Chapter 10: Voices of the Damned

Alex traveled through the burning city, glancing at each ruined building as he searched for the one with the statue in front. After another half hour of walking, he finally spotted it, the hospital. Without wasting any time, he activated the boots and hurried toward it.

Upon entering the area, he saw the statue of three women standing in a circle. Each had their arms held out, their wrists slashed open as thick, black, tar-like blood oozed down into the courtyard. The sight made Alex uneasy. The eyes of the three women seemed to follow him as he walked past, the stone gazes lifelike and haunting under the flickering firelight all around.

He slowed his pace for a moment, studying the figures carefully. Their expressions were carved with sorrow and pain, as though they were weeping for the damned souls that entered the hospital beyond.

Alex then turned toward the looming hospital above him. The cracked and fractured walls pulsed with an ominous light, as if the structure itself was alive. A chill ran down his spine.

“I better be careful,” he muttered. “I need to take Celeste somewhere safe. I can’t protect her if a fight breaks out.”

He looked around at the crumbling buildings scattered throughout the city, searching for one sturdy enough to hide her in while he ventured into the hospital.

He eventually found one that was stable enough. As he walked inside, he searched through the collapsed structure and noticed a basement. Carrying Celeste, he descended the broken stairs and carefully checked the shadows to ensure nothing dangerous was lurking below. Satisfied it was safe, he laid her gently in the corner of the basement and brushed the hair from her face.

“Stay safe. I’ll be back as quick as I can,” he whispered.

He gathered bits of rubble from the basement and used them to cover her body just in case and then plunged Onimaru into the ground creating the repelling barrier. Then he went back up the stairs and blocked off the entrance, making absolutely sure nothing could find her.

Once he was certain she was hidden, he stepped outside and activated his boots again, speeding toward the hospital. As he entered the courtyard, he came face to face with the three disturbing statues once more, but something was wrong.

The figures had changed position. Instead of holding their hands out, their arms were now bent and twisted like gnarled tree branches. Their necks, torsos, and legs were contorted as if every bone had been broken and frozen in place. Thick streams of black blood now poured from their eyes, yet they still seemed to stare directly at him. Alex’s steps slowed as he cautiously walked past them, their gaze never leaving him as he approached the hospital entrance.

He tightened his grip around Muramasa, its thin tip gleaming in his hand as he neared the doors. Yet those statues kept gnawing at the back of his mind.

It’s better to be safe than sorry, he thought. Might as well see what happens.

Alex charged up Muramasa and turned sharply, performing a spinning slash aimed straight at the statues. He poured his mana into the katana, unleashing several black arcing slashes that tore through the stone figures. The statues shattered instantly, crumbling into countless pieces as black, tar-like blood that spurted into the air like a geyser. The rain of viscous liquid splattered over the courtyard, soaking Alex’s already bloodstained clothes and dyeing them even darker.

He glanced down, touching the strange substance with his fingers.

“Damn, it’s even sticky like tar,” he muttered, then looked back at the ruined statues and nodded. “Good, one less thing to deal with.”

But as his worry faded and he turned toward the hospital doors, a piercing scream echoed behind him, the agonized cries of three women wailing in unison.

The collapsed pile of stone he had just sliced apart began to bulge and twist, growing grotesquely as slabs of flesh formed where stone once was. In seconds, a hideous shape emerged, a creature that resembled a human crawling on four legs, with writhing tentacles sprouting from its back and countless heads could be seen on its body as they looked like they were trying to escape from the inside of the abomination. Three heads, fused together at the forehead in a triangular shape, hung at the front. Each mouth gaped wide, filled with jagged teeth, and the air filled with their shrill, overlapping screams as the abomination finished taking form.

Its elongated arms bent at impossible angles, and the twisted limbs beneath it moved with jerky, unnatural speed. Before Alex could react, thinking it was still transforming, the abomination darted toward him. Its mangled legs moved unpredictably, causing it to lurch and veer side to side as it charged.

Alex stepped back and swung Muramasa, charging it with magical energy once again. He unleashed a black arc of destructive power, but the abomination’s erratic movement caused the attack to miss entirely. The magical energy ripped through the air and dissipated, fading into nothing as the abomination continued its unpredictable advance.

Alex stood there watching as his magical slash from Muramasa vanished into the air while the towering abomination charged straight for him.

“Uh, never mind, maybe I’ll deal with this later,” he muttered, turning on his heel and sprinting for the hospital entrance.

The abomination thundered after him, its three heads screeching in rage. Just as it was about to devour him whole, Alex dove through the entrance. The abomination’s heads slammed into the building, shaking the entire structure as it roared furiously, the screams of the three women echoing through the halls.

Alex caught his breath, relieved it was too large to fit through the doorway, until the abomination stepped back and thrust one massive arm through the door. It clawed at the air, trying to seize him and drag him out.

He dove forward, narrowly avoiding the abomination’s grasp as its claws scraped the floor behind him. The monster screamed in fury, digging into the concrete foundation in a desperate attempt to force its way inside. The entire entrance trembled under the assault as Alex scrambled deeper into the dark hospital corridors.

The giant abomination clawed and clawed, trying to force its way in. Alex turned to watch it for a moment, just to make sure it couldn’t reach him. But then, the abomination abruptly backed away and vanished from sight.

Alex let out a long sigh of relief.

“Man, I’m glad that’s over. I’ll have to find a way to avoid it on the way out. I don’t want to deal with that thing. At least not by myself.”

As he said this, he failed to notice what was happening behind him. Two large paintings hung upside down on the nearby wall, both corrupted and grotesque. They depicted two men with their bodies hanging by their legs like ornaments. Pieces of their flesh were missing, strung together like a beaded necklace, as thick blood dripped from the edges of the frames and splattered onto the floor below.

Alex didn’t see any of it. Instead, he looked to his right at the corridor ahead, scanning the area and reading the faded signs along the walls, trying to locate the place that might store what he came here to find.

Meanwhile, in a dark basement a few miles away, a loud gasp echoed, followed by violent coughing as Celeste finally awoke. Her eyes shot open as she looked around but saw nothing in the darkness. She groaned in pain and pushed aside the debris Alex had covered her with.

“Alex,” Celeste called out, but there was no response. She tried again.

“Alex, are you there?”

But still, no reply. Then it hit her. The last thing she could remember was diving in front of that Golem’s hand that swung at Alex, pushing him out of the way and taking the blow for him.

“Oh, that’s right,” she murmured. “I wonder how long I’ve been out.”

Looking through the dim magical light, she realized Alex was nowhere to be seen. The only thing in sight was the glowing Onimaru, stabbed into the ground at the center of the basement, its faint aura protecting her.

Celeste tried to move but quickly realized she was in terrible pain. Several bones felt fractured, and every movement sent a shock through her body. She laid still, closed her eyes, and focused, channeling her mana into her right hand. After a moment of deep concentration, a soft golden light began to form in her palm.

When the spell was ready, she pressed her hand against her chest, and the warmth of healing energy spread through her entire body. The radiant magic mended her fractures and sealed her internal wounds, though the process left her gasping for air as her energy drained.

When it was over, she lay still, exhausted and sore, her breathing was heavy. For a long while she simply rested, as the faint hum of Onimaru’s energy keeping her company. Eventually, her strength returned little by little, and she finally managed to sit up, then rise to her feet, steadying herself against the cold stone wall.

She then noticed Alex’s jacket tied around her abdomen, binding her wings behind her back. Now that she was healed, she untied it, letting her wings unfold and stretch freely. Looking down at herself, she saw her body caked in dried blood from that accursed temple. Her armor was battered, dented, cracked, and partially broken.

“Looks like my armor took quite a beating from that hit. I can’t move properly with these pieces of armor. Might as well just get rid of them then. I was hoping it would last a little bit longer.”

With a sigh, she unclasped both pauldrons and let them fall to the ground, the metal clattering against the floor.

She walked to Onimaru and grasped the hilt, pulling the blade from the ground. Holding it firmly, she sheathed it into the oversized scabbard at her waist that was for Excalibur, tightening the straps. Then she took Alex’s jacket and tied it around her waist before using her strength to shove aside the debris blocking the stairs.

Crawling out of the partially collapsed building, Celeste emerged into the open air. She stood beneath the smoky sky, gazing at the burning ruins around her.

“Where are we? This doesn’t seem to be anywhere near that temple we were at before. How long have I been out?”

In the distance, she saw the outline of a massive building and something enormous moving around it.

Her heart sank. “I wonder if that’s where Alex is. Maybe I should wait here for him to return. No, I better go after him, even if I am a bit tired. If he’s in danger, I need to be there to help him while I still can.”

Despite her exhaustion, she pushed her trembling body forward, and began walking toward the distant hospital, following the faint echoes of chaos in the distance.